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Sunday, June 30, 2013

Only 3 weeks left to 2013 Chicken & Beer Festival in Daegu!!Many people are already drooling for this one and only festival badly so here's a special project that we plans to introduce Daegu based chicken brands and restaurants every week. The second one is 'TANG TANG CHICKEN'.

TANG TANG

Since it was established in 2007 in Daegu, TANG TANG CHICKEN has became one of the beloved chicken brands in Korea. It has 80 branch offices in Daegu, more than 300 branchesthroughout the nation.

While most chicken in Korea is fried chicken, TANG TANG CHICKEN debuted oven baked with boneless chicken, and found that customers loved the change.

Not only TANG TANG CHICKEN was seleted as 'Star company' by Daegu city, also it runs thecompanywiththebeliefthat businesses shouldcontributetothesocietywheretheybelong.

TANG TANG CHICKEN has basically 2 types of chicken, oven baked one and fried one. This is the Herb Boneless Chicken, one of the best menu in TANG TANG. There are 3 different special sauces for every menu.

The combination of crispywell-cooked chicken, herb seasoning, sweetness of honey, created a completely new taste. Also it is easy to eat as it doesn't have any bone.

What about having cool beer and chicken tonight? It always can be a best way to spend your late Sunday evening :)

Friday, June 28, 2013

Last weekend was the Daegu Food Tour Expo. A couple of friends and I were lucky enough to score spaces on the tour before obtaining free tickets to the exhibition that would showcase international produce along with Korean food, cooking demonstrations - and my favourite part and reason for wanting to go - FREE SAMPLES. Did I mention I like free stuff?

The ‘Noodle Tasting Tour’ left the Exco centre at 9.30am and lasted 4 hours. Our route was Gangjeong Goryeong Weir - The Arc - Yuksinsa Shrine - Donggok Noodle tasting.Our first stop was the Weir, it was vast and watery and I thought how nice it would be to get a bike and cycle along it.

This is Nakdonggang river - the lifeline of Daegu. The Goryeong Weir has been turned into an attraction as the center of the river in Gangjeong and for also being the largest Weir on the river.

After walking along a bit we were greeted by a spaceship.

Not really, but it was still pretty cool.

The ARC is a center for the Artistry of River Culture and was designed by Hani Rashid, an architect who wanted to express river culture such as skimming stones and jumping fish in his design (which I think he’s done quite accurately). The building looks quite natural and organic on the outside, but on the inside it is like a futuristic pod of touchscreens, floor projections and nicely presented data.

The place is definitely worth another visit as spent most of our allotted time there re-hydrating on the roof, but the little we learnt about river culture was very interesting!

Afterwards we jumped back on the bus and headed to Yuksinsa Shrine. Everything became very green and suddenly it felt like we weren’t in Daegu anymore but some tropical paradise.

The original Shrine was built in the Joseon Dynasty, and rebuilt in 1981 by the descendants of the dynasty and devotees from memorial tributes. The Shrine’s Taegojeong Pavilion is designated as National Treasure No. 554.

The place was so picturesque and I would love to go back here too as it seems the area had a few walks and a lot more to see! The groundskeepers and devotees have worked extremely hard maintaining the gardens, there were the most beautiful flowers. We talked about how calm we felt and how it would be the perfect place for a picnic before jumping back on the bus.It was approaching 1pm and we were all hungry from the morning’s travels. Luckily we would be able to try Daegu’s most famous Kalguksu on our next stop!

The restaurant where we ate had been there since 1950 and had even been paid a visit by President Park Geun-hye! I felt honoured to be eating (for free) in such a significant place. We all agreed that the food was delicious and that there is no glamourous way to eat noodles. Nobody looks good doing it, just slurp them up and enjoy (which we did). This was our last stop and it was time to head back to check out the exhibition. I was excited for the prospect of more free food and the others wanted to pick up some authentic Korean Kimchi. The bus drive back was nice though with some good views and entertainment along the way - we even won a prize! Hooray!

'EXCO is a leading exhibition and convention center in Daegu Metropolitan City. Since opening in April 2001, the EXCO has been successfully hosting international events. Major facilities include exhibition halls, conference rooms, and meeting rooms, while subsidiary facilities include restaurants, cafes, bank, post office, travel agency, medical clinic, business support centers, and convenience store.’ - visitkorea

Even though we had just eaten, our mouths began watering (there’s always room for dessert) we eagerly approached the sweets table but there was something about the food that was a bit strange… It was all plastic! I think this was common practice for the ‘display’ dishes so I forgave, admired, and moved on to the real food.

Tasters acquired include: sweet garlic bread, ice cream, blueberries, quesadilla, Korean pomegranate and apple wine - win.The exhibition had a lot of international stands including food and drink from the USA, China, Kenya and many other countries. It was busy and smelt delicious. There was a great food court too where you could support local and international suppliers. Despite my initial disappointment with the plastic food the dishes were still very impressive and it was interesting to find out a bit more about the food that we consume and other lesser known alternatives on the market. The expo is great for businesses in this way and I hope that the stall owners generated a lot of interest for their products and brands over the weekend.

It
would be imprudentto
speak of the Daegu Food Expo without journeying into the more lubricated area
of the event. Korea's drinking culture ranks among the elite of the world, with
Jinro Soju recently named as the highest-sellingliquor of all time, with soju-to-go packs that look like innocent
juiceboxes, with 24-hour makkeoli and maekju and virtually no laws prohibiting
you from consuming it at your leisure, yes Korea's got the whole drinking thing
down. Many a time we've wandered the streets of Jung-gu at night, dreaming up
ways to import Korea's liberal laws and liberating nightlife to our own
origins. Surely a scene such as the party zone of this year's Daegu Food Expo
wouldn't fly at home, but when in Korea....

After sampling tasty
treats and eats local to Daegu, Korea, and from around the globe, we were lured
by liquor-peddling patrons into what we later deemed the "party
zone"—an entire area sanctioned specifically for us to er, sample Korea's finest boozy beverages,
complete with Makkeoli-ville style drinking huts, hanbok’d hankookin photo ops,
and plenty of friendly firewater-offering enablers. Get in or get out, Korean
drinking culture isn't for the faint of heart (or liver), so in we jumped—and
landed right in a pool of some of the strongest soju we've ever encountered.
Though presented amicably enough, in traditional porcelain Andong figures,
appearances can deceive when contents are concentrated. A few more shots of
innocent 45% ABV Andong Soju, insists the kind, gentle lady behind her
handiwork—and who are we to argue? The rocket fuel is hardly down the hatchet
before a neighboring gentleman in temple garb beckons us over to sample what
looks like some rice wine. Nope,
that's bamboo soju—and not the dainty kind you've mistook for apple juice on a
few foggy occasions—real, brewed-in-bamboo Jukryeokgo, knock-your-socks off
kind of stuff. What we thought was a sample turned into a glass and we
attempted to appreciate the subtle woody nuances while knocking it back with a
feigned smile. Oh Korea, we can't keep up with you, and it's only just begun...

We sample a few imported wines (if sampling means someone
insisting that your cup of smooth honey wine be refilled thrice) but decided to
stick with the local offerings, and mosey towards the makkeoli vendors.
Makkeoli made with rice and without, some strong (ginseng makkeoli!), some
sweet and creamy (this stuff), some standard GS-style fare, others only
the finest. One vendor was so kind as to invite us into their tent to share some
makkeoli and snacks appropriate for pairing (anchovies, shrimp crackers,
gojuchang). Though our communication left something to be desired, their
generosity and friendliness was innumerable—except it was slightly numerable in
that we left with a bag topped up to the brim, full with five bottles of
makeolli, but that's besides the point. At this day on the 2013 Daegu Food
Tour, we were wined, dined, and shown incredible kindness and generosity from
Korean vendors and left bursting at the seams with happiness... and a lot of
makeolli too. Though we may say this still empowered by a little liquid courage,
we'd say we became at least 45% more Korean on this day. Gun bae!

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Mt. Biseul, which
can be enjoyed all year round, offers Azalea colors during springtime,
the foggy valley in the summer, beautiful foliage and silver grass
during the autumn, and the ice hill in the winter. With its highest peak
at 1,084m, this mountain provides good trekking courses. It also has
nice camping ground for all people.